The Ponte Vedra Beach Municipal Service District (MSD) Board of Trustees elected new officers at its most recent meeting on Monday, Jan. 14.
The Board ultimately elected John Cellucci as chairman, Brad Wester as vice-chairman and Gary Jurenovich as treasurer.
The election for chairman started with Jurenovich, the previous chairman, nominating Cellucci for the position. Trustee Kitty Switkes subsequently nominated trustee Brad Wester for chairman. Come time for the vote, however, Wester voted for Cellucci and essentially withdrew his nomination.
“I think a logical stepping ground, not to get ahead of myself, would be to spend time as vice-chair before,” Wester said.
As a result, all trustees switched their votes to Cellucci. Wester was then nominated for vice-chair and unanimously elected to the position.
The treasurer election proved to be the most competitive. Cellucci kicked off the process by nominating Jurenovich to the position. Switkes, in turn, nominated recently sworn-in trustee Holly Kartsonis for treasurer.
Both Kartsonis and Jurenovich were provided with an opportunity to state their case for the position. Kartsonis noted that she previously served as the chief financial officer of Nemours Children’s Clinic, as well as in other financial positions. She also spoke to her community involvement on many other boards, including Easter Seals and the Rotary Club of South Jacksonville.
“I have a lot of experience in doing this sort of job,” Kartsonis said. “I think it really pulls you into the day to day. I feel capable of that, and I am very interested in working with the MSD. This would be a good way to do it.”
Jurenovich, who has served the MSD for more than 12 total years as a trustee, noted he’s been treasurer of the MSD six times. As a result, he said he knows the “ins and outs and workings of it.” He also said his previous efforts resulted in the MSD building their reserves back up to approximately $200,000 in the early 2000s, which he said prevented the district from having to raise taxes during the Great Recession.
Recently sworn-in trustee Mack McCuller questioned if the treasurer duties would be better suited for someone new who has direct financial experience, allowing Jurenovich to focus on his other many responsibilities, such as going to St. Augustine, lobbying on behalf of the MSD, etc. Jurenovich suggested that the better route for Kartsonis would be to "start out and learn and then move up from there."
“Go out there and start a ‘big dog’ project,” Jurenovich advised. “Go out there and start getting together with county administration. Go out there and start riding around with our commissioners. That’s how you learn about the MSD.”
Jurenovich additionally noted that the position of treasurer is the “work position,” requiring several responsibilities such as going to the post office, approving invoices, generating the P&L, completing the budget and audit, etc.
“The treasurer probably does 10 times more work than the chairman and vice chairman,” Jurenovich said. “I’ve done it and I’m used to it.”
Wester asked if Kartsonis has the time for such a commitment. Kartsonis said she’s been running her husband’s practice for the past 12 years but has transitioned to part time as of a year and a half ago, providing her with more time. She also voiced her confidence in her budgeting skills, both personally and professionally, as well as her overall business acumen, noting that she manages a few of her real estate properties. Following Kartsonis’ remarks, Switkes suggested that the board should consider having a female officer “for a change on the MSD.”
The board ultimately voted for Jurenovich 4-3, with Jurenovich voting for himself along with Wester, recently sworn-in trustee Al Hollon and Cellucci. Kartsonis voted for herself along with Switkes and McCuller.
At the next MSD meeting on Monday, Feb. 11, the board will delegate areas of responsibility for each trustee. The meetings are currently being held in the MSD office in the St. Johns County Tax Collector’s Annex on Palm Valley Road.
